Meet the Superheroes
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s FRUIT BATman! WHAT? You’ve never heard of FRUIT BATman, the superhero who saves people by saving the environment? So who is the megabat behind the mask…? It’s Pteropus poliocephalus, the flying fox!
The superheroes
Flying foxes are also called fruit bats because a lot of their food is fruit. They are Australia’s biggest bat (wingspan can be up to 1 metre) helping it fly far and fast which is why they are called megabats which means large bat, mega = huge.
Flying foxes are mammals, like us, with warm blood and hair. They also give birth to live babies and feed them milk.
By day they hang upside down in trees, but at night they become the superheroes of the forests. Flying foxes have a great sense of smell and excellent eyesight – helps them find food at night.
Let’s get to know these superheroes better and look at their superpowers.
[Image: Flying Fox Superpower diagram by Laura Hill, 2021]
Life Cycle of Flying Foxes
Did you know a baby flying fox is called a pup?
This is their lifecycle – usually one baby born a year.
- The mother gives birth upside down and uses her body and wings as a net in case the pup falls.
- The pup is fed milk from its mother.
- The pup holds on to its mother with its teeth and claws while she flies and looks for food.
- After 1 month the pup is getting too heavy to be carried. It stays at home in a kind of bat preschool (camp) while its mother goes off to find food.
- When they are 6 months old, they can fly with their mother and learn how to find food.
Types of Flying Foxes
There are 4 different kinds of flying foxes in Australia:
- Black Flying Fox
- Grey-headed Flying Fox
- Spectacled Flying Fox
- Little Red Flying Fox
Flying foxes live in big groups called colonies. Centennial Park is home to Sydney’s biggest colony of Flying Foxes. It’s the Sydney headquarters for these superheroes during the day. There are 2 kinds of flying fox living together at Centennial Parklands.
[Image credit: RBGSYD]
Types of Flying Foxes
The Grey-headed Flying Fox
Description
- Dark grey fur, with orangey-red fur around the neck, and light grey hair.
- The wings are about 1 metre from tip to tip.
- Has fur all the way to the ankle.
Habitat
They can be found in forests, woodlands, mangroves, and gardens.
Diet
[Image credit Sarah Thorpe]
They eat fruit from many different Australian plants. They really like figs and also eat fruit from introduced plants.
They also feed on the sweet nectar and pollen from the flowers of Australian trees, particularly the gum trees.
At night they can fly up to 50 kilometres to find food.
The Black Flying Fox
Description
- Short black fur, sometimes with reddish-brown fur (around the neck).
- Belly fur sometimes with grey flecks.
- The bottom half of their legs have no fur.
- Their wings can be up to 1 metre from tip to tip.
Habitat
They live in rainforests, forests, woodlands, and mangroves.
Diet
- They eat fruit from many different Australian plants as well as introduced plants.
- They also feed on the sweet nectar and pollen from the flowers of Australian trees.
- They may fly over 50 kilometres to find food.
Activities
Draw, label and colour a Flying fox diagram.
- Copy the diagram of the Grey-headed flying fox.
- Label all the body parts that the arrows are pointing to, these are the body parts that help give flying foxes their superpowers.
- Colour in the diagram to show what a Grey-headed flying-fox looks like in real life
Design a superhero logo for a flying fox and identify it’s superhero characteristics
- Design a superhero logo for your flying fox.
- Write a list of your bat’s superhero characteristics.
Test your Flying fox knowledge
- Write 3 questions about Flying foxes, include the correct answers.
- Put all your questions together as a class.
- Get into teams and hold a trivia competition to see which groups are Flying Fox Fanatics!
Image 1: Flying fox in sky. Centennial Parklands
Image 2: Flying Fox Superpower Illustration/diagram – credit Laura Hill 2021
Images 3 & 4: Centennial Parklands
Image 6: Flying fox with native gum image (Diet) – credit Sarah Thorpe
Image 7: Black Flying fox image – credit Nick Jones 2014
Image 8: Centennial Parklands
Image 9: Black Flying Fox eating – credit Nick Baker
Image 10: Grey-headed flying fox diagram. Greater Sydney Parklands Education and Community Programs